Bloodline
by endlessly wandering
Summary: There wasn't any "Hey, can I bring my girlfriend to the movies?" or "Is it cool if she comes along?" From the moment Pony announced he was dating Cherry, a Soc, our worlds started to blend in a way that would end in blood.


_So sorry in the lack of stories. College, ya know? _

_Many thanks to Ben Platt and his new album, 'Sing To Me Instead', for inspiring this story. _

**HURT ME ONCE**

He started bringing her everywhere right from the get go.

There wasn't any "Hey, can I bring my girlfriend to the movies?" or "Is it cool if she comes along?" From the moment Pony announced he was dating Cherry, a Soc, our worlds started to blend in a way that would end in blood.

And I guess you could call me out on the fact that I haven't been close to Pony since we were younger. You could say that me, being the middle child and all, could easily brush it off. Being the middle kid always leaves you with dissatisfaction to some degree.

But for my goody-two-shoes brother to date a girl who was on the total opposite side of town? That wasn't sitting well with me.

"It was like a threesome gone wrong, I swear."

Darry looked up at me from where I stood by the fridge. "Dude. You _really _had to word it like that?"

I ignored his genuine disgust for my choice of words. "I'm not kidding you! We went to the movies and the entire time he had his arm around her and didn't pay any mind to me."

Darry smirked. "You sound like Mom."

"It's not like I drove him to the other side of town or anything to pick her up _and_ drop her off."

Darry's attention flashed to the wall behind me, where the bathroom light crept its way towards me before being turned off. Pony paid no mind to us as he walked back to our bedroom. When his turned back to me, his voice was low. "I know you did, Soda. But he's young and 'in love'."

"Bullshit," I spat, surprised by the acidity of my tone. "She's a fucking Soc, Dar. She crosses the tracks every day to visit and doesn't leave until well past midnight."

Darry snapped his fingers and pointed at me, muttering, "Needta talk to Pone about that bit."

"Darry!"

"I hear you, Soda, I hear you. But you gotta realize that Pony's growin' up and he ain't just a little kid you can boss around anymore."

His words hit my skin with such an intensity it made me fall back against the countertop. Darry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Quit being overdramatic. He's a teenager, Soda. You and I did the same damn thing."

"But wenever dated a Soc-"

Darry's eyes grew cold, and for a minute I swore he became my father. "Enough. This conversation is done. If you wanna go blab about it to someone," he pointed in the direction of the bedroom, "blab about it to him."

* * *

For once, I took Darry's advice.

I stood before my own bedroom, feeling like a stranger who's about to walk in on two people fucking or something. It was strange, yet familiar; foreign, yet friendly.

I opened the door softly, peering in. At once Pony's eyes met mine, and I felt myself shrink back, to which Pony called out to me. "Soda, come in here. I wanna talk to you."

For being the youngest child, Pony had a way with words. He could calm you down in a second, make you angry another, and then make you cry all in one or two sentences. For being the middle child, I was never that literate. I could never write the way Pony could, nor could I build the way Darry could. I was the middle man in everything-intelligence, compassion, and duty.

It sucked ass.

I walked over to him, my stomach heaving like I could puke. I stopped, ducked down to grab the trash can, and carried it over to the bed, where I sat down on the creaky mattress with a loud _irrrrrrk_.

"Just in case," I muttered, nodding to him. He smirked, as though knowing I meant it was for me. I gripped the trash can in preparation.

"So, uh," Pony began, and a rock formed in my throat. "This is hard to explain, but..."

I threw my head into the trash, expecting bile. Nothing.

"I think I'm gonna propose to Cherry."

There it was.

Pony stared at me as I literally puked, then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I don't see why it's that...grotesque." He stated, eyeing both me and the now rotten-smelling trash. "You did it with Sandy when you were eighteen."

"Look what happened," I grimaced, feeling my stomach twist again. He always brought up Sandy when talking about the future. "She got knocked up and left."

"Cherry won't do that. I know she won't."

I snorted. "Didn't think Sandy would either, but life's a fuckin' landslide."

"What's your deal with Cherry? I thought you got along real well. She wants to know you better."

"She wants to know me better because I drive y'all around."

"I'm proposing," Ponyboy glared me down, like he expected me to protest again. "I already talked about it to Darry, and he wants me to be happy. Don't you?"

_Not with a ring on her finger._

I smiled and messed up his hair. "Mhm. Totally."

* * *

He came home a few days later, sobbing up a storm.

"You were right," he choked out. "Happy now?"

That's when I stormed out of the house. I drove the 45 minutes uptown to where the line is drawn between the Soc's and Greaser's.

Another 15 minutes passed, and I knocked on Cherry's door. I was shitting my pants, thinking that her father or someone more important would answer, and my heart leaped out of pure joy when I saw her face.

"Just wanted to tell you that you've broke my brother's heart. I wasn't happy he was proposing so soon, but fuck, I was happy that it was you. You fucked up, Cherry Valence. You just lost the one person who doesn't care about that goddamn train track, that line where we're divided."

I left her there, staring after me, her mouth wide open.

Like I said: our worlds ended in blood.


End file.
